Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for caring about Lauren. We got home today and Lauren spent all day in her bed. She said her liver feels like when you wring out a washcloth only it is her liver being wrung out. She comes up with the craziest ways to explain things!!

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Hi,I think your daughter will be fine; just record the temp if develop low grade fever ,abdominal pain, may be nausea or vomiting or flu like symptoms . There are the most common side effected but should be disappeared in a couple weeksz; make a diary on the side effects if possible so it may be of value to other members.More rest at home during the first two weeks may be helpful and take everything easy ,activity like outings,for a month. In this way I think it will stabilize the liver reaction to the procedure. As you may know RADIOEMBOLIZATION is not FDA approval procedure yet for. CCAGod bless.

Please know that my personal opinion is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. If provided, information are for educational purposes.Consult doctor is a MUST for changing of treatment plans.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Hi Percy,

I will keep a diary what happens every day to let others know what happens with Lauren. And yes, we were told about it not being FDA approved, but Lauren's doctors all thought it would be a good option for her and are very hopeful of a good outcome. She knows to take it easy and I will make sure she does. Thanks for your wisdom.

Love, -Pam

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

It's important to celebrate each and every victory along the journey, isn't it? I am so happy that the procedure went well, and just missed you at U of M (we were there on the 14th). Let me know if you ever want to grab a coffee or if you want me to show you the Arb across the street (a gorgeous huge park along the Huron River)! I told my mom about you and Lauren and she wanted to offer you a place to stay anytime! I assume you stay with your eldest daughter but the invitation is always extended (my mom is still in denial I think so meeting other folks going through this would frankly be more helpful to her right now!).

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

I would love to meet you and your Mom sometime. We used to be at U of M on Mondays, but then Dr. Z switched us to Wed. because Lauren had to have bloodwork at a local hospital the day before we went to Michigan to check her platelets to make sure they weren't too low for chemo. Sunday didn't work for labs because nobody was at the Cancer Center at U of M then to get the fax about Lauren's counts. It's not fun to drive 3 1/2 hours only to be told to go back home for a week. So we are thankful for that, but liked Mondays better. We would come to my daughter Kristen's house Sunday evening and spend time with them. Tell your Mom thanks for the offer to stay with her, but we have a place. That is just the sweetest thing. She must be so precious. Maybe we could even all go to dinner sometime after Lauren's chemo. Lauren feels good after chemo now since they eliminated the Cisplatin. We'll figure something out. Take care. Say hi to your Mom from us.

Love, -Pam

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Update on Lauren.

Lauren is feeling pretty good. She can walk better than she did after the mapping. She got a shower last night and did fine. She didn't even have to sit on a chair. She had enough energy to stand the whole time. She has no fever, no nausea, no real pain except for a pain right under her breast bone. I think the liver is up that high and it is in the middle of her chest which means that would be the left side of her liver, which is where the Theraspheres were placed. The pain is not very bad because she only tells me it hurts if I ask. I am amazed at just how tough she is. Never, ever complains about anything. She is a true cancer warrior!!

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Thanks for letting us know, Pam! I'm happy she's doing so well. And, yes, the top of the liver is tucked under the rib cage and does go to the center of the body. Mostly under the right breast, but it does hit the center of the body.

KrisJ"Don't just have minutes in the day; have moments in time."Any opinions I give are based on personal experiences, and are not based on medical knowledge. I strongly suggest receiving medical care and opinions.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

After I wrote this, it was really bothering that she was having pain in an area that they didn't really say should have pain. Then I was worried it was a blood clot or something. So I dug Dr. Z's card out of our huge cancer file and on the back of his card was something that said Residence number. Could it be his home phone? We called it and a lady answered and Lauren asked for Dr. Z. It was his home number!! Lauren told him about our concerns and he said it didn't sound like anything to worry about. Probably just a pain from the procedure. How awesome was that!!

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Lauren still has the pain in her left chest. It is up higher than her heart and lungs. Maybe it is a nerve or something? Other than that, she is acting perfectly normal. She took a 30 mg. Morphine last night instead of her regular 15 mg. She said she woke up once and felt higher than a kite. So she laid down and went back to sleep. She said she slept awesome. Hopefully, the pain will subside soon. I didn't see chest pain on the list of side effects, but Lauren says leave it to her to get the weirdest side effect of all. She continues to amaze me at what her body can withstand. Youth is definitely on her side!

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

When I went for a second opinion back in the beginning of my cc journey I asked the doc what 'symptom' I could look for if I had a met to my liver. he said oddly enough, some people get a pain in their shoulder. I thought that was crazy until I had a liver biopsy and one of the symptoms I had was ...pain in my shoulder! So perhaps pain elsewhere is just a nerve thing that happens when the liver is 'nudged' a bit?

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Pam:Lauren is amazing!! But tell her she can't have the weird side effects: that's for me to get!!! It's horrible when you get the side effects that aren't on the charts, because you don't know whether to worry or not. I usually choose the "don't bother the doctor" side if I'm going to be seeing my onc in a day or so. If my appt. isn't for a while I usually wait a day then call if whatever it is hasn't subsided. Unless, of course, it's really scary or painful.I'm jealous she got to drive that car! What a great friend you have there. I know that for him it's something small (unless the car is his first love) but for Lauren it was probably a lot more. Thanks for sharing that story on your blog.

KrisJ"Don't just have minutes in the day; have moments in time."Any opinions I give are based on personal experiences, and are not based on medical knowledge. I strongly suggest receiving medical care and opinions.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Kris,

I didn't really want to call her doctor's home, but it was Saturday and I figured if I called the hospital, I'd probably get some resident that wouldn't know what to do and tell me to take her to the ER. So, I just wanted to hear from her onc. to be sure. That car was pretty sweet and she got in and just took off racing down the street. It cracked me up and made me smile to see her enjoying the wind in her face!

Love,

-Pam

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Pam:I'm glad you had his number to call!! I was just saying I tend to put off calling unless my temp is 102 or something. Having pain in the left part of the chest is pretty scary. At least by talking to him you put your mind somewhat at ease.

And I can just imagine the fun she had in the car! I probably would have floored it, too!

KrisJ"Don't just have minutes in the day; have moments in time."Any opinions I give are based on personal experiences, and are not based on medical knowledge. I strongly suggest receiving medical care and opinions.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Update on Lauren

I have been updating on Lauren and how she is doing with the Therasphere procedure on our blog, but for those of you that don't read it, I will update here.

Lauren is still having pain in her upper left chest. She has a lot more energy though. This past week has been a little more difficult than usual. Thursday was her worst day. She was really nauseous and tired.

Her ONC wanted her to have bloodwork at our local hospital and have the results faxed to him. He was concerned that her liver functions would be very abnormal because she was in pain. I am happy to say that all of her tests came back normal! Her liver is functioning just fine.

Her Oncology Radiologist thinks her pain is coming from one of her tumors that is high in her liver and it is being affected by the radiation. She has seen this happen before.

Lauren is tough and never complains. She only tells me she is in pain if I ask. Since her liver is doing ok, her ONC wants her to come to Michigan on Wed. and will more than likely start back up on chemo. So that is where she stands as of today. I will let you know of any new developments.

Love, -Pam

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Pam, sorry that Lauren is still having that pain! But good that you are going to the Doc onWednesday as hopefully some answers will be found and they can make that pain the the ----- disappear. Hoping you still have an enjoyable holiday weekend.Lauren....keep putting the pedal to the metal!

Teddy ~In our hearts forever~ATTITUDE is EVERYTHINGAny suggestion I offer is intended as friendly advice based solely on my own experience. Please consult your doctor for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Hi Pam,

Thats not good to hear that Lauren is in pain, and I hope that her onc will have some answers as to what they can do for this on Wednesday. My fingers are crossed for this. But it is great to hear that Lauren's liver function tests came back normal and that her liver is working fine, great news!

What a tough cookie Lauren is!!

Hugs to you both,

Gavin

Any advice or comments I give are based on personal experiences and knowledge and are my opinions only, they are not to be substituted for professional medical advice. Please seek professional advice from a qualified doctor or medical professional.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Another update.

Lauren is doing ok. Not feeling terrific yet. She still has the pain in her chest, but not quite as bad. She switched her breakthrough pain med to Hydrocodone and Tylenol instead of fast acting Morphine. It helps ease the pain more. She hasn't been quite as peppy as usual. She did manage to go shopping most of the day with her brother today. She went on a bike ride yesterday, but had to cut it short because it really wiped her out. She has been falling asleep earlier in the evening too. Her ONC thinks she is doing well. All of her liver functions are normal. She will be having a CT the end of this month to see how things are going. She started back on her chemo last week. Gemzar and 5-FU. No problems with that as usual. Next week we will all be participating in Relay For Life. We had really sweet bright green and hot pink t-shirts made for our team I will update again in a few weeks. Hopefully this stuff is working!!

-Pam

My beautiful daughter, Lauren Patrice, will live on in my heart forever.

My comments, suggestions, and opinions are based on my experience as a caretaker for my daughter, Lauren and from reading anything I can get my hands on about Cholangiocarcinoma. Please consult a physician for professional guidance.

Re: Lauren's Theraspheres

Pam, sounds like a good update to me! I know we have to dig way down to come up with a little more patience, who ever said that was a virtue? Lauren does well to push herself through the tiring parts but I hope she is saving a little energy. She is something else...Pam you are a good mother, afterall Lauren did get some help growing up to become the woman she is! YES, lets take some credit for our daughters~! As always wishing and hoping for the very best for your Mother/Daughter team and best of luck on your Relay for Life. Love Green and Pink!

Teddy ~In our hearts forever~ATTITUDE is EVERYTHINGAny suggestion I offer is intended as friendly advice based solely on my own experience. Please consult your doctor for professional guidance.

The information expressed is not medical advice. The discussion boards are not intended to replace the services of a trained health professional or to be a substitute for the medical advice of physicians or other healthcare providers. Read the full disclaimer.